Artificial intelligence has given this 83-year-old research scientist a new lease on life.

I had been wanting to complete a computer program exploring my research findings about how hermit crabs get the snail shells in which they live.

But here’s the thing — I’m fairly phobic about computers, and I’m definitely not an experienced programmer. Yet, thanks to an AI assistant, I was able to make changes to my computer program. I inserted statements to check that it was using correct values, and I uploaded the newly altered program to an online repository so that my collaborator had access to it. 

A colleague showed me how to use the AI assistant and within a few hours I was able to employ the tool on my own. I was a nervous wreck after I made the changes, and I had to eat half a chocolate bar afterwards to soothe my anxiety. But I was successful.

In my research, I apply ideas........

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